


Release

by Suryaofvulcan



Category: Star Trek: Enterprise
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-11-26
Updated: 2006-11-26
Packaged: 2018-08-16 07:04:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8092354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Suryaofvulcan/pseuds/Suryaofvulcan
Summary: Archer is missing and presumed dead. How will Malcolm and Hoshi deal with the aftermath? Missing scene, 3.24 "Zero Hour."





	

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Kylie Lee, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Warp 5 Complex](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Warp_5_Complex), the software of which ceased to be maintained and created a security hazard. To make future maintenance and archive growth easier, I began importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in August 2016. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but I may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Warp 5 Complex collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/Warp5Complex).

  
Author's notes: A/N: Written especially for ShiShi, who has been giving me some lovely feedback lately, and who once mentioned sheâ€™d like to lure me into the realm of Reed/Sato.  


* * *

HOSHI

â€œHoshi?â€

I raise my head from the pillow as Malcolm taps gently at the door.

â€œHoshi, itâ€™s time for your medication. May I come in?â€

â€œYes.â€ Iâ€™m surprised how unsteady my voice sounds, and I pull my pile of blankets a little closer around me as the door slides open and he enters the room. Iâ€™m cold. Numb. I canâ€™t believe Iâ€™ll ever feel warm again.

â€œHow are you doing?â€ He gives me a wan smile as he sits down on the edge of the bed and opens the small box containing the hyposprays Phlox entrusted to him before we left â€˜Enterpriseâ€™.

I look up into his eyes and see my own feelings mirrored there. He looks lost. Desolate. We succeeded in our mission, destroyed the Xindi weapon, but itâ€™s a hollow victory. We lost the man who led us into the Expanse, the man who never wavered in his resolve, who drove himself and the rest of us to our limits and beyond in the belief that only we could save Earth. We lost our captain.

I shuffle closer, leaning against Malcolmâ€˜s shoulder. I can only imagine how he feels right now. Knowing him, he probably blames himself for leaving the captain behind. There was a time when I thought of him as repressed, almost emotionless, obsessed with weapons and tactics and explosions, but in the last few days Iâ€™ve seen a different dimension of his personality, in the care and compassion heâ€™s shown me, not just in administering my medication, but sitting with me, gently coaxing me into working on Degraâ€™s encrypted schematics - as opposed to the captain, who was almost bullying - and talking with me, making sure I really was able to cope with returning to the weaponâ€™s control platform.

â€œThere,â€ he says, attempting a flippant tone as he presses the hypospray against my neck. â€œAll done.â€

I donâ€™t move away. Instead I loop one arm around his waist and pull him closer, taking comfort from the warm solidity of his body against mine. He responds by sliding his arms around me, and I feel him bury his nose in my hair as he wraps me in a gentle hug.

I glance up into his eyes, and in one unguarded moment I see the maelstrom of emotion shifting through them: uncertainty and sadness and pain and longing. Suddenly Iâ€™m overwhelmed by the need to feel â€¦ something. Anything. I slowly lean forward, and brush my lips gently across his, aware of the warmth of his breath on my face, the softness of his lips against mine.

â€œHoshi, we shouldnâ€˜tâ€¦â€ he whispers, his voice low and husky, drawing back just a little, but I place my fingers on his lips, silencing him. Then I replace them with my lips, brushing my fingers along his cheek and then sliding my hand up into his hair, drawing him down as I deepen the kiss.

~~~

MALCOLM

â€œHoshi, we shouldnâ€™t â€¦â€ I murmur, but Iâ€™m mesmerised by her eyes, like clear, dark pools of sadness, drawing me in.

Her fingers on my lips silence my feeble protest, and then her lips are on mine again, her tongue gently tasting me, and I only hesitate for a moment before a soft growl escapes me and I surrender, closing my eyes as I melt into the kiss.

I know I shouldnâ€™t. Sheâ€™s been gravely ill, injured, tortured. Forced to aid the enemy. And now sheâ€™s lost her friend, her mentor, her captain. Sheâ€™s incredibly vulnerable, and I shouldnâ€™t take advantage of that.

But perhaps sheâ€™s no more vulnerable than I.

It could have been me. Should have been me. I should have been the one to stay on the control platform and activate the final self-destruct sequence. I should have argued, insisted. Disobeyed, if necessary. But I didnâ€™t: the captainâ€™s increasingly obvious death wish superseded even my sense of duty. Instead, I chose to bring Hoshi to safety.

I open my mouth as her tongue flickers gently against my lips, and a long-dormant flame awakens low in my belly as I take my first tentative taste of her. Sheâ€™s like some sweetly exotic flower, opening under my touch as I probe deeper, her skin soft and warm under my hands, her hair like strands of silk as I brush my fingers through it. I could lose myself for ever in this moment.

~~~

HOSHI

He growls softly in the back of his throat as we kiss, and that needy, involuntary sound coming from the normally so disciplined, so controlled Malcolm Reed awakens a spark of desire in me.

I grab hold of the emotion, fanning the flame as I kiss him more passionately, but I need more. I thread my fingers into his hair and press him harder against me, rising onto my knees in front of him as I plunder his mouth with my tongue, and to my delight, my relief, he returns my desperate passion. His tongue dances in my mouth, his lips slide against mine, and I feel the warmth of his hands through the thin fabric of my pyjamas as he explores my body.

I want him. I need him. Now that the desire has awakened, I ache to be touched. To be fucked. Without conscious thought I find Iâ€™ve removed my own top, and my hands have worked their way under his uniform, touching the smooth, bare skin of his chest and shoulders. Iâ€™m not even sure he realises what heâ€™s doing as he helps me, shrugging the coverall and shirt off his shoulders and down his arms.

â€œHoshi.â€ 

My name falls from his lips like a softly whispered prayer as I suckle at his earlobe and kiss his throat. I can feel his breath on my skin, and then his lips trace a burning path from my shoulder, down over my collarbone to my breast, and my head rolls back as he sucks my nipple into his mouth.

â€œMalcolm,â€ I whimper, threading my fingers in his hair as I arch my back, pressing him harder against me. I can feel the wet heat building between my thighs, the ache, the longing, as he tongues and teethes the hardened nub, and then I moan softly and pull him down into the bed with me as his fingertips creep under the low waistband of my pyjama bottoms.

~~~

MALCOLM

Somehow we move until weâ€™re lying together on the bed, and I become aware of cool air on my skin as I realise that sheâ€™s worked my coverall and shirt off my shoulders and down my arms. I feel her hands on my back, holding me against her, and the softness of her skin against mine.

How long has it been since I was with a woman? With a Human woman? I can barely remember the last time, my brief flirtation with the Vissian tactical officer, over a year ago now, notwithstanding. Is it shameful that I canâ€™t even remember her name?

My body responds eagerly to Hoshiâ€™s touch, the fire in my belly quickly becoming a hard heat in my groin. I want her. I need her. And this woman - this beautiful *woman*, lying naked in my arms - wants me. For the moment it doesnâ€™t matter how or why.

She giggles a little as she helps me kick away my boots and trousers and briefs, and I smile in return as I come back down into her arms. We take a moment to gaze at each other, and I drink in the sight of her dark liquid eyes, her black hair falling over her shoulders, her warm olive skin and darker brown nipples. Then I close my eyes and moan softly as she reaches out to touch me, brushing her fingers along my length.

Her mouth closes over mine and she kisses me deeply, hungrily, and for a moment I lose myself in the sweet sensations of her hands caressing me, her soft, warm body moulded against mine, the scent and the taste of her. And then she rises up and straddles my hips, and another moan escapes me as she engulfs me in her wet heat.

The sensation is so intense I can barely breathe. I gaze up at her. Sheâ€™s magnificent; her head thrown back and her eyes closed, hair cascading down her back like a dark waterfall, her full lips parted, a sheen of perspiration glistening on her skin and her pert little breasts heaving as she gasps my name. I push myself up on my arms and kiss her hungrily, and then she begins to move, and I fall back with a groan.

It doesnâ€™t take long. I try to keep still as she rides me, making small, undulating movements with her hips. It feels wonderful, and look down at where weâ€™re joined, at black hair against brown, at dark skin against light, and I canâ€™t control myself any longer. I buck and thrust underneath her, driving us into a faster rhythm, and I begin to see stars. I grasp her hips, grinding harder into her, beginning to lose control, until at last I hear her cry out as her body tightens around me.

As she collapses into my waiting arms, my control finally shatters and I fall into blessed release.

~~~

HOSHI

I gaze down at him from under hooded eyes as I straddle him. Heâ€™s beautiful. I already knew that, of course, Iâ€™ve been in decon with him often enough to know exactly what kind of physique heâ€™s hiding under that uniform, but I canâ€™t believe Iâ€™ve never noticed his eyes before. Those deep blue sapphires gaze up at me now, dilated with pleasure and passion as we move together. 

He fills my body and my soul, and for this moment Iâ€™m complete.

We move together, slowly at first, and then with greater urgency as our passion builds. I can feel the tension coiling in my belly as Malcolm grasps my hips, driving harder into me, touching and stroking against the most sensitive places both inside and outside my body, but still my orgasm takes me by surprise, and he catches me as the warm wave of release floods through me.

~~~

MALCOLM

We lie together for a long time afterwards, her body a welcome weight on my chest. I allow myself to drop gentle kisses on her brows and her eyelids, my hands drawing caressing patterns on the smooth skin of her back. At last, when weâ€™ve finally caught our breath, she raises her head. I can see the uncertainty in her eyes.

â€œMalcolm, Iâ€™m â€¦â€

I place my finger across her lips, forestalling her apology, and she falls silent as I kiss her gently.

â€œIt was â€¦â€ Amazing? Wonderful? Hardly appropriate sentiments given the circumstances. â€œI think it was something we both needed.â€

She nods in silent agreement, and Iâ€™m about to pull her back down into my arms when the comm chirps.

â€œMacKenzie to Lieutenant Reed. Please report to the bridge. Weâ€™re approaching the rendezvous co-ordinates, sir.â€

I sigh. â€œAcknowledged.â€

Hoshi gives me a rueful smile, drawing away as we both rise from the bed and begin to pull on our uniforms. After Hoshiâ€™s softness, the heavy fabric feels rough against my skin.

When weâ€˜re dressed she pauses in front of me, nibbling at her lower lip. â€œMalcolm?â€ she says softly. â€œAre we â€¦ okay?â€

I pause for a moment, and I feel a small smile pulling at my lips as I consider everything thatâ€˜s happened in the last twenty-four hours. â€œYes,â€ I tell her, taking both her hands in mine and leaning in for one final kiss. â€œI believe we will be.â€

 

THE END


End file.
